As a result of consumer needs and advances in technology, airline customers are flying extended range airplanes on long routes. Currently, no designated or purposely designed crew rest accommodations are provided on BOEING® 737® model airplanes. A typical means for providing crew rest provisions is by having them utilize an otherwise revenue generating seat in the cabin. Several disadvantages are clearly associated with this arrangement. First, the revenue potential of the utilized seat in the cabin is lost. Second, the secure door safeguarding the flight deck from the cabin has to be opened during the flight, exposing the crew members and the flight deck to possible unauthorized access. Third, typical passenger seats and even some business class and first class seats cannot be put into a lay-flat position, which is optimal for sleep. Another way for providing crew rest provisions is by creating a sleep compartment for pilots beneath or above the flight deck floor. However, such a provision is typically possible only on a large aircraft and a single aisle aircraft is unlikely to have enough space to accommodate this method.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a pilot sleep area in a flight deck, allowing at least one of the crew members to rest in a comfortable, preferably fully flat, position and reducing or entirely eliminating the need for occupying an otherwise revenue generating seat in the cabin and exposing the crew members and the flight deck to potential unauthorized access.